Africa objects to US chairing UN climate fund
26/1/2023: African board members have raised an objection to the nomination of a US official to jointly lead the UN flagship Green Climate Fund. The US has contributed just $1 billion to the fund in its 12-year history, compared to $9bn from EU countries and $3bn from Japan.
Source: Climate Home News
China’s population falls for first time since 1961
17/1/2023: China's population fell last year, a historic turn that is expected to mark the start of a long period of decline in its citizen numbers. The largest drop since the last year of China's Great Famine lends weight to predictions that India will become the world's most populous nation this year.
Source: CNA
World strikes ‘historic’ deal to protect nature
19/12/2022: Global leaders have agreed at the UN COP15 negotiations to protect and restore a third of the Earth's natural areas. $500 billion of environmentally harmful subsidies will be eliminated or redirected to fund the deal.
Source: DW
Ministers arrive to rescue UN biodiversity talks
15/12/2022: Negotiations at COP15 around financial support for low income countries to protect global biodiversity have stalled. Government ministers will be under pressure to deliver a last minute compromise.
Source: Climate Home News
COP15 is the make-or-break moment for global biodiversity
6/12/2022: Greenpeace sets out its benchmarks for the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework currently under negotiation in Montreal. Clear recognition of Indigenous Rights heads the list.
Source: Greenpeace International
Why 30×30 would be the worst possible outcome of COP15
8/12/2022: The principal goal of the current UN biodiversity negotiations is to agree to protect 30% of the world's land and marine areas. Opponents argue that lands managed by Indigenous peoples and local communities are more effective than protected areas in conserving biodiversity.
Source: African Arguments
Which countries might benefit from a loss and damage fund?
8/12/2022: The recent COP27 climate talks in Egypt agreed to establish a new fund for climate loss and damage, but not which countries might benefit from it. There are varying interpretations of the concept of vulnerability to extreme weather events.
Source: Climate Home News
EU law cracks down on deforestation-linked imports
7/12/2022: The European Union has finalized a law that will ban the trade of commodities associated with deforestation and forest degradation, such as beef, cocoa, soy and timber. Companies will be required to issue a due diligence statement verifying that imported goods don’t come from deforested land.
Source: Mongabay
Six key issues at stake for biodiversity COP15
2/12/2022: The 15th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity is expected to adopt a plan to reverse the alarming trend of global biodiversity loss. Preparatory negotiations on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework have achieved some consensus on its overall approach to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030.
Source: China Dialogue
COP27 was a mirage in the Sinai deserts
29/11/2022: Sunita Narain argues that the outcome of COP27 was the worst in the history of these negotiations. Decisions were either no-decisions or regressive. There is no meaningful approach to loss and damage unless it is framed in terms of liability and compensation.
Source: Down to Earth